BAFA funding: consulting on your bookkeeping with up to 80% covered
On eligible consulting costs of up to €3,500, you only pay 20 or 50% yourself, depending on where your business is based. The rest comes as a grant from BAFA, Germany's Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control. As a BAFA-registered consultant I help you reorganise your bookkeeping and handle the funding.
Free info callBAFA-registered consultant | Funding programme “Förderung von Unternehmensberatungen für KMU”
Your bookkeeping works, but everything is done by hand
Collecting receipts, chasing them, forwarding them, entering them by hand, checking them. The same loop every month. Your tax advisor gets folders or uploads, you get questions back and wait for numbers that could have been there long ago.
You probably already have digital tools. What's holding things up are the processes behind them. They've grown over the years, mostly around what the accounting firm needed, and were never planned for your business.
A consultation that reorganises these processes costs money. That's what BAFA funding is for.
How BAFA funding works
BAFA funds business consulting for freelancers and small and medium-sized businesses. A consultation on reorganising and automating your bookkeeping qualifies.
How much
80% in the eastern German states (excluding Berlin and the Leipzig region) and in the Lüneburg and Trier regions. 50% in the western German states, in Berlin and in the Leipzig region. Eligible consulting costs go up to €3,500, so your own share is €700 or €1,750.
Who qualifies
Freelancers and small and medium-sized businesses based in Germany, from sole traders, UGs and GmbHs to online shops. The legal form doesn't matter. What counts is the EU definition of an SME.
The process
You apply before the consultation starts. Then comes the consultation with a documented report, the proof of use and the payout of the grant. I know the process and help you with it from start to finish.
BAFA has extended the programme until 31 December 2028. From 2027 you log in to apply with your ELSTER account or your BundID.
What you get from the consultation
The consultation looks at your current bookkeeping processes and gives you a plan you can put into practice.
- Analysis of your current processes. Where manual work comes up, where processes depend on one person, where control is missing.
- Target processes for your bookkeeping. How receipts and data flow, who is responsible for what, and what can be automated.
- A choice of software that fits your business, whatever your accounting firm prefers.
- A concrete action plan with priorities that you can carry out yourself or with me.
Afterwards you know which tasks stay with you, which run automatically and what you still need a tax advisor for.
BAFA funds the consultation. It doesn't fund the software setup or the ongoing bookkeeping.
Who this is for
Good fit if you
- ✓run a small business or are self-employed, based in Germany
- ✓have your bookkeeping in-house or want to bring it in-house
- ✓want to get rid of manual work, gaps between systems and dependence on single people
- ✓are ready to change your processes too, beyond buying new software
Not a fit if you
- ×are only looking for someone to book receipts cheaply without changing anything
- ×want to leave everything with your tax advisor as it is, without taking on more control yourself
- ×want the funding without a real consulting project
- ×work in consulting yourself, for example business consulting, tax advice or legal advice
Sandra Mühleisen, BAFA-registered consultant
Step by step
Info call (15 minutes)
We look at your situation and whether your project can be funded at all. The call is only for getting oriented. The consultation comes later.
Application
I help you apply to BAFA. Important: we only sign the consultancy contract once BAFA has confirmed your application. Signing the contract already counts as the start of the consultation.
Consultation
Analysis, target processes, action plan. Usually about 6 weeks.
Wrap-up
Report, proof of use and payout of the grant.
Common questions
Am I entitled to the funding?
No. BAFA makes the decision, and the funding rates and conditions can change. In the info call we check whether your project meets the requirements, but only BAFA can approve it.
What does it cost me?
Eligible consulting costs go up to €3,500. At that amount your own share is €700 (80% grant) or €1,750 (50% grant), depending on where your business is based.
Do I have to pay upfront?
Yes. You pay my invoice for the consultation in full first and get the grant back from BAFA after you've submitted the proof of use.
Is the consultation tied to a specific software?
No. The software is chosen based on how you work. I work independently of DATEV and of what your accounting firm prefers.
What happens in the info call?
In 15 minutes we look at your situation and whether your project can be funded. The info call is free and helps us both see if it's a fit. The actual consultation only starts after the application has been approved.
How long will the funding be available?
BAFA has extended the programme until 31 December 2028. From 2027 you log in to apply with your ELSTER account or your BundID. Each business can get funding for up to two consultations a year and five in total until the end of 2028.
Is the software setup funded too?
No. BAFA funds the consultation. You pay for the software setup and the ongoing bookkeeping without a grant.
Can the consultation be in English?
Yes. The BAFA application and the report follow BAFA's requirements, and I help you with the German parts.
The first step takes 15 minutes
Book the info call. Afterwards you'll know whether your project can be funded and what the way to automated bookkeeping looks like for your business.
Free info call